Church of Christ

1n 1998, we spoke with Minister Jimmie Keas and Stan McNally, a church elder and project coordinator for the dome construction of the Church of Christ in Salina, Kansas.

Their Monolithic Dome measures 110' diameter and 40' high. "We began work in March 1996," McNally said, "and celebrated our first Christmas in the new sanctuary that same year.

Minister Keas added, "Once we got started it went quickly. But we actually began in 1992, when it became obvious that we were outgrowing our existing, conventional building on our three-acre site." Rather than knock down their standing structure and rebuild, Church of Christ sold that three-acre sight and purchased fifteen acres, in a commercial area, that included an old motel.

They then began researching various building designs and came across information on Monolithic Domes, which immediately sparked their interest. Keas said, "We sent a building committee of six to Italy, TX to see just what a Monolithic Dome looked like and we were very impressed."

"A Monolithic Dome would give us what we wanted and needed," McNally added. "We did not want a facility we would quickly outgrow, so we purposely over built." Currently, the church seats 450 but has a potential capacity for 1000.

Work was completed within ten months, mostly with volunteer labor contributed by the church's congregation of about 200. Keas said, "There was lots of enthusiasm - volunteer labor just was not a problem. I would say we had volunteer labor that, if you had to pay for, probably would cost about a quarter of a million."

One of those volunteers was a church member who does electrical design work. McNally said, "We yielded to his experience and expertise. He suggested seventeen metal halide lights arranged in concentric circles along the ceiling cloud. We wanted brightness and that's what we got."

The ceiling cloud is actually a drop ceiling, hanging from the dome's ceiling, at a height of thirty feet. It was suggested by the architect for echo absorption. But the cloud did not sufficiently control unwanted sound, so two-thirds of the wall space was covered with Tectum. McNally explained, "These are 15 1/2" squares, 3" thick that look like spaghetti poured on a board - but they're attractive. We arranged eight blocks of these in a diamond pattern. It looks nice and the acoustics are much improved."

In April 1997 the interior was completed and an open house with a Bring Your Neighbor Service held. "More than a thousand people showed up and toured and asked questions. I did not hear one negative comment."

Printed in the Winter 1998 Roundup

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